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The quartzite on Slieve League splits into flagstones and was used for flooring or roof tiles. The mountain is noted for its spectacular array of cliffs descending straight from the summit to the sea, and for the dramatic One Man's Pass (Casán an Aonair). This narrow arete leading to the summit is not for the faint-hearted, especially on a windy day. All the same, it is a doddle beside the route taken in the 19th century by the botanist H.C. Hart, who traversed the cliffs of Slieve League at half-height, 1,000 ft. above the sea and 1,000 ft. below the summit. The entire journey, ending at Malin Beg, took him three days. At one point he was astonished to see footprints in front of him on this precipitous route. As he rounded the next eminence, he met an old man with his son, both eating samphire flowers. The old man was in a state of consternation to see a stranger there and pleaded with him to turn back, but Hart carried on. He reported that the route is known as Thone-na-Culliagh (prob. Tóin na Caillí). Robert Lloyd Praeger was very enthusiastic about the wide range of alpine plants on the north face above Lough Agh. There was a hermitage on Slieve League connected with St. Assicus of Elphin, Co. Roscommon. The ruins are the piles of stone still to be seen just NE of the One Man's Pass.
Slieve League is the highest mountain in the Donegal SW area and the 296th highest in Ireland. Slieve League is the second most westerly summit in the Donegal SW area. Trackback: http://mountainviews.ie/summit/285/?PHPSESSID=mdcsjvui96jrvsr4eguek6e912

If you are thinking of climbing to the summit of Slieve League via One Man's Pass, and don't have a good head for heights, I would urge you to reconsider this route. I am a reasonably experienced hill walker and have climbed nearly all of Ireland's highest mountains without difficulty. However, the first time I tried to cross this pass I bottled out on account of the wind and, more importantly, the exposure. There is a very severe drop to the sea on one side and another big potential fall onto hard rock on the other side.
I did manage to cross the pass a couple of days ago with a companion who doesn't suffer from height fright and who more or less guided me towards each hand and foot hold. It was absolutely terrifying.
I'm glad that I've ticked this particular box, but I won't be doing it again.
We continued north along the coast to Malin Beg, a five hour walk in total. Absolutely stunning. Trackback: http://mountainviews.ie/summit/285/comment/15972/

Your Score: Very useful << >>Average

Picture from garrettd : Summit Ridge on Slieve League

Picture: Summit Ridge on Slieve League

Summer Solstice Backpack

by garrettd 5 Jul 2015

We covered the Slieve League ridge as part of a backpack, parking on the road that leads to the farmhouse at G552 800A. We told the lady of the house that we were parking cars there overnight and she had no issue with this and wished us well. The land above the house and all the way to Lough Agh G558 788B was extremely waterlogged despite a relatively dry June (in Dublin anyway). We set up camp here and made the hike over the ridge and back to the camp, unencumbered, in about three hours, The sea mist lifted for all of about two minutes at the top to give us a view of the ocean far below. I'm already looking forward to coming back here and doing the walk in better visibility. Trackback: http://mountainviews.ie/summit/285/comment/18153/

Your Score: Very useful << >>Average

Picture from Aidy : Looing along the pass towards the South-East Top

Picture: Looing along the pass towards the South-East Top

One Man's Pass?

by Aidy 26 Jun 2016

A post just to show a photo looking back along One Man's Pass from Slieve League towards the South-East Top. The top of the ridge was wide enough to not feel dangerous at any point. Trackback: http://mountainviews.ie/summit/285/comment/18588/